Castlevania (Trevor Morris)

Get it: If you’re a fan of the series and enjoyed the music in-show, or if you like haunting electronic scores

Don’t get it: If you prefer orchestral scores that are more melodic and less action/electronic

Castlevania has a history of great music. In fact, Castlevania: Lord of Shadows 2 (Oscar Araujo) won the award for Best Video Game Music at the 2014 Film Soundtrack Center Awards. Now, Netflix is releasing an original animated series based off the game franchise. This score leans more on the electronic side of the musical spectrum than strictly the orchestral. It’s also worthy of note that most of the tracks are shorter in length (1-2 minutes usually). Of course, this isn’t a problem at all, just something to note as it is made for a Netflix series that currently has only four episodes streaming.

The interesting thing about this score is how the electronic elements give it a modern feel, though the notes they convey sometimes indicate something from the past. It’s slow and haunting, largely. It feels tailored to pair especially well with the visuals of the series to complete the experience. At times, Morris does something that’s pretty hard for composers to do in this genre of soundtrack — he connects with the listeners. Many synth-type scores are based on things like action and cool-factor, but not necessarily truly connecting with the listeners or the characters. Morris has done a great job of taking this medium and applying it to a score.

The main title is a pretty great way to start off the viewer’s experience. “Tavern Brawl” is a highlight due to it’s pleasant break from the deepness of the rest of the soundtrack. However, it is in that deepness that the score puts the listener in the right frame-of-mind. “Alley Fight” is another track that seems to take a moment to lift the listener. Overall, this score seems to do a good job of setting up the mood for the show, and hopefully we can get more music for Morris to develop even further in the forthcoming episodes of the series.

The Castlevania soundtrack is available digitally now, or on CD August 4 and you can order here.